Egypt and Saudi Arabia: Strait of Tiran and Bab el-Mandeb

The Middle East Institute (MEI) published on 10 January 2017 a brief update titled "Saudi Interest in the Red Sea Islands of Tiran and Sanafir Grows as Its Security Interests Expand" by Geoffrey Aronson, scholar at MEI.

The article deals with the expected transfer of the Egyptian islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which protect the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, to Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia's goal to establish a military base at Djibouti, which overlooks Bab el-Mandeb, the southern entrance to the Red Sea. These moves constitute an extension of Saudi naval power in the Red Sea region, perhaps at the expense of Egypt.